A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood postcards, made of thin wood, and copper postcards sold in the Copper Country of the U.S. state of Michigan, and coconut "postcards" from tropical islands.

In some places, it is possible to send them for a lower fee than for a letter. Stamp collectors distinguish between postcards (which require a stamp) and postal cards (which have the postage pre-printed on them). While a postcard is usually printed by a private company, individual or organization, a postal card is issued by the relevant postal authority.

Dave, as we said in the article, Cereplast is recommending 109D for thin-walled IM applications, and, as a resin in the company's Sustainables line, it's targeted at automotive, consumer electronics, and packaging uses. It's clearly not aimed at the high end of durables. I agree, it will be interesting to see what specific objects it's used for.

Thanks for clarifying that, Ann. Now that I think of it, of course it makes sense that the same products can be used for fuel or bioplastic, but I wasn't sure if certain properties of the biomaterial might be different and so not conducive to both processes.

Ann, thanks for posting this. The mechanical properties of the algae-based polypropylene don't seem to be quite as good as regular polypropylene. A general-purpose, petroleum-derived grade would have a tensile strength around 4900 psi, compared to 3460 psi for Cereplast's algae-derived grade. The ductility is also quite low (3.3%, according to Cereplast, compared to 12% for a petroleum-based grade). That being said, it may be good enough for many applications. It would be interesting to see what applications Cereplast's customers are considering for this material.

Thanks, Clint. Glad you're enjoying our coverage of this subject. I've been looking more toward bioplastic and biofuel efforts that use feedstocks that are non-food, don't use potential agricultural land, and preferably use waste that would otherwise be contributing to CO2 levels.

Elizabeth, thanks for asking! No sarcasm--I'm happy to share. I find this subject absolutely fascinating. I suggest you check out the links at the end of the story: we've published several posts on a wide variety of feedstocks.

Thanks for keeping a finger on the pulse of the alternative materials market. It makes for great reading and increases awareness.

As I had mentioned in my comments on one of your earlier columns, finding a repeatable, reliable and large enough source for the feedstock makes or breaks this sort of system. It's great that Cereplast was able to use the waste stream from a what sounds like a mature company in another industry. As long as that product flourishes, Cereplast won't have to worry about raw materials.

And as their raw material is another company's waste, it is a win for the environment.

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